You had me at "viola forum". 

In the late 90s/early 2000s I was a big message board junkie, then BigSocialMediaGiant ate my soul.  I rediscovered message boards a few months ago and ran around getting myself on some music ones.  They are so much better at staying apolitical and I'm so much happier than I was 6 months ago.  

I started on viola in 1983 and added flute in 1988, then lapsed on them both for decades.  I was just starting to get into the viola again in my late 30s then a car accident took my bow arm (and a whole lot more) out of commission.  I tried in vain for years to be able to get it back but the best I could do after 15 months of physical therapy was to get back to being able to write on the board (I'm a science teacher).

I was fooling around with my husband's guitar and figured out I could strum, but the neck... it was so big and devoid of viola logic - my left hand was hopelessly confused.  And then it hit me - the mandolin.

I took up mandolin and it brought me back to my happy place - better yet - after about a year at it, the much more gentle act of strumming built my right shoulder up enough that I was eventually able to bow again.

I snatched up a couple other fretted things in the throes of COVID but I'm less than a novice at them.  They're fun though.

One of my step kids recently moved back in with his mother and I was kind of down in the dumps about it so to cheer me up, we had a talk with him about it and he said he was ok with the idea of us reclaiming his room as a hobby room.  My husband just wanted a weight bench and a (magnetic) dart board, so about 80% of the space is mine for music.  It's my sanctuary and whatever is going on, I can go in there and come out better.  Good days are for playing with abandon, stressful days are for focussing in on a shift or a rif or a fingering or anything else that requires slow repetition and closing everything else out.  

Looking forward to joining your community.